Lithium polymer
Lithium ion polymer batteries, or more commonly lithium polymer batteries (abbreviated "Li-Poly" or "Li-Po") are rechargeable batteries which have technologically evolved from lithium ion batteries. Their light weight, high power output and slow rate of self-discharge have made them extremely popular in R/C, especially electric aircraft. It should be noted that in R/C applications, special care must be taken in their use. While much more volatile than nickel cadmium or nickel metal hydride batteries, lithium polymer batteries can be safely recharged hundreds of times over if one follows the guidelines below: *Chargers designed for use with Li-Po batteries must be used. Failure to do so runs the risk of explosion and/or fire. *The leads must never be allowed to short together. Immediate damage to the Li-Po will result. *Unlike their nickel-cadmium bretheren, Li-Po batteries must never be allowed to discharge below a certain point. Therefore, low voltage cutouts (LVC) on ESCs or ESC/receiver combinations must be set so as not to overdischarge (see below). *A battery involved in a severe crash should never be immediately loaded into a vehicle due to risk of fire. Safe charging The majority of lithium battery fires happen during charging, so it makes sense to charge where a fire will not spread. *Do not charge inside a vehicle, especially a moving vehicle. *Charging in a heat-resistant ceramic container with a loose fitting lid is recommended. Flames, smoke and gas are released if a battery "vents." *Metal containers can be used, but ensure the charging wires cannot be cut or shorted. *Keep batteries separated so that a fire cannot damage other batteries. *The charging container should be kept away from anything flammable. Safe transport There have been very few cases of batteries suddenly exploding when they are not being used, abused or charged (i.e. during transport and storage). Lithium batteries are commonly air-freighted protected by a few layers of bubble wrap and small versions are carried around in mobile phones. Should shipping an R/C pack be necessary, pack it so it cannot be physically damaged. Some fires have been caused because a dog was attracted to the smell of a lithium battery and bit it. Safe disposal If a battery's outer case is punctured, the lithium inside is highly volatile and will react violently with water. Such a pack may be disposed of by first discharging it with an automotive lamp, carefully slitting the outer skin of each cell with a razor blade or X-Acto knife and neutralizing it for several hours in saltwater. Since the chemicals are considered environmentally friendly, the pack may then be disposed of in the regular trash. Note that some cells might react to any discharge attempt with further bloating. Such cells should immediately be placed into a saltwater bath. It can take several days for a fully charged cell to deactivate in saltwater. If your cell is bloated, excercise caution when opening the outer foil. Using a needle on a stick is advised. Only puncture the outer skin, do not push the needle all the way through the cell. It is advised that this should be done with the cell already submerged in the saltwater bath. Explanation of the alphanumeric designation The alphanumeric designation used in R/C applications refers to the number of cells in the battery and the way they are interconnected. * "3S" denotes a three-cell battery wired in series, thus multiplying the voltage to three times that of a single cell. * "2P" denotes two batteries connected in parallel, to give twice the current capacity. Thus, a 3S2P battery contains 6 cells, and has three times the voltage and twice the capacity of any individual cell. All cells in a pack should be identical. What does the 25C or 30C mean? A 3S 11.1 LiPo battery with 5000mAh have 1C = 5 ampere. So if the battery is rated for 25C continous use that means it can output 125 ampere, or allmost 1400 watt. Voltage of a Battery Pack The nominal voltage of a single Li-Po cell is 3.7V and the voltage of a Li-Po battery pack will be 3.7V multiple by the number of cells connected in series configuration. A 3S battery pack will give a nominal voltage of 11.1V. Lithium Ion versus Lithium Polymer Lithium ion cells are cylindrical and have a rigid metal case. Lithium polymer cells have a flexible, foil-type (polymer laminate) case, but they still contain organic solvent. Since no metal battery cell casing is needed, the battery can be lighter and it can be specifically shaped to fit the device it will power. Because of the denser packaging without the holes between cylindrical cells and the lack of metal casing, the energy density of Li-Poly batteries is over 20% higher than that of a classical Li-Ion battery and approximately three times better than NiCd and NiMH batteries. The voltage of a Li-Poly cell varies from about 2.7 V (discharged) to about 4.23 V (fully charged). Li-Poly cells have to be protected from overcharge by limiting the applied voltage to no more than 4.235 V per cell. During discharge on load, the load has to be removed as soon as the voltage drops below approximately 3.0 V per cell (used in a series combination), or else the battery will lose capacity and may no longer accept a charge. Recent design improvements have increased maximum discharge currents from two times the cell capacity to 15 or even 20 times it. In December 2007 Toshiba announced a new design offering a much faster rate of charge (about 5 minutes to reach 90%). These cells were released onto the market in March 2008 and are expected to have a dramatic effect on the power tool and electric vehicle industries, and a major effect on consumer electronics. Some chargers can be set to charge Lithium and other types of batteries. They must be set to the li-po setting, and failure to set the correct battery type is one of the most common causes of LiPo fires. The next most common causes are incorrectly setting the number of cells in a pack, and attempting to charge a physically damaged or over-discharged pack. As stated earlier, the lithium in a Li-Poly cell is hazardous. However, with good common sense, lithium polymer batteries can be safely handled, last for many cycles, and just as safely, be disposed of. Lithium batteries used for regular E-flight typically last a couple of years and a few hundred cycles. Balancing Many batteries, especially the larger packs now come with a second, smaller, multiwire plug for balancing. A lithium balancer can be plugged into this either during charging or afterwards to ensure that all cells are at the same voltage. If a battery is not balanced, some cells may be overcharged, others may be over-discharged and the life of the pack can be reduced. Balancing is required because lithium batteries are not automatically balanced by a small overcharge in the way nickel-cadmium batteries are. There are many different lithium battery balancers on the market, no standard plug and no clear agreement about the "best" balancer or method of balancer. Not all balancers are compatible with all chargers, so some research may be necessary. Some balancers are only able to balance a small amount of amps which, depending on the LiPo cell, may not be enough to achieve a balanced state. Some newer LiPo chargers are able to individually charge each cell using the balancer plug, thus both eliminating the need for a separate balancer and ensuring that the balancing is done with sufficient power. External links *Battery University is an on-line resource that provides practical battery knowledge for engineers, educators, students and battery users alike. The papers address battery chemistry, best battery choices and ways to make your battery last longer. *LiPo Fires videos in the Utah Fliers video collection. Well worth watching to see how large a fire you have to deal with. Category:Electric Category:Batteries